Chloe
by EnchantedBella0916
Summary: Dark secrets surround Kimberly's secret return home. Fearing her friends reaction to her personal hell keeps her silent and hidden...almost. Please R&R! Ch. 6!
1. Chapter One

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Power Ranger characters. The story and the original characters are mine.**

 **P.S. This is the story that I have literally had in my brain since I was in middle school. We're talking like 2002-ish. I had written it all down in a notebook that has been lost for years but I remember most of it. Please, please read and review. This one means so much to me.**

* * *

"Thank you for everything, Coach," Kimberly said, giving her old Coach a hug as she had just finished getting the last of her things in her car.

"I am so sorry that all of this has been happening to you," he said, hanging his head in shame, "If I had known he was this way toward any of my girls, I..." Coach Schmidt couldn't finish the sentence.

"I know," she said, giving his wrinkled hand a squeeze. She knew it was hard for him to accept that someone he had trusted and mentored and given so much responsibility too had violated his gymnasts the way he had, for as long as he had. He also knew that Kimberly had bore the brunt of the abuse in an attempt to save the other girls. Especially the young ones.

"Take this," he said, pushing an envelope into her hands. She knew what it was and she started to protest but he held up his hand, "It's the least I can do for everything you've sacrificed. Stay safe, Kimberly. Call me when you get there, let me know you're safe."

"I will," she said. She was fighting tears the whole time and she gave her coach one more hug and then made the walk back to her car where Trini, her best friend sat waiting.

Once they hit the interstate, headed in the direction of California, Kim let the flood gates open and silently cried in the passenger seat. She cried for everything she had lost, consistently for the last two years. Trini said nothing from her place in the driver's seat. She simply reached over and took her best friend's hand and gave it a loving squeeze, knowing just how much Kimberly needed let go of how much she had been holding in.

* * *

 **Flashback - 5 months ago, two days after her return back to Florida from her visit to Angel Grove and subsequently, the Island of Muranthias**

Kimberly's bare back hit the hard, ridged surface of the lockers in the gym locker room. The assistant coach found her in the showers and yanked her out by her hair and flung her into the wall of lockers. It knocked the wind out of her.

"You think you can stop me," he growled, stalking toward her. She attempted to stand but she was soaked and slipped on the wet, white tile and her face hit the floor. She felt him grab her ankles and she was suddenly being dragged, wet and naked across hard tile. She felt his hands let go so he could get closer to her and she took the opportunity to roll onto her back and she swung her legs around and tripped him. His face hit the floor next to her with a sick slap and blood spurted everywhere as his nose crunched against the floor.

"YOU BITCH," he said and wrapped his hands around her throat as he moved to straddle her naked body. He back handed her across the face and continued to choke her. She was clawing at his hands and kicking her legs, trying hard to buck her body upward to knock him off of her. It was all to no avail. He leaned in, close to her face and growled low in his throat, "I'm gonna kill you, but first I'm gonna fuck you." She took the opportunity to use her dying strength to ball up her fist and punch him with everything she could muster. She'd hit him squarely on the jaw and managed to knock him off her. She struggled to get to her feet, scrambling across the floor for the exit. He caught her ankle again and pulled hard. Her other foot slipped out from under her and she fell, her head smacking the tile hard. Her chest hit hard as well, once again knocking the air out of her. Her vision immediately went fuzzy and she lay in a bloody daze on the floor as her temple gushed blood. She could barely hear the jingle of his belt coming unbuckled as she groaned on the floor. He grabbed her shoulder and roughly, rolled her over. She had just barely begun to get her breathing under control when he pinned her to the floor, one hand pinning her hands above her head, while he laid his arm firmly across her throat, cutting off her air and her ability to scream. She felt him force his way inside her and then everything went black.

When she came too he was still there, getting dressed and attempting to clean up. She'd made it impossible for him to leave the locker room without anyone noticing his broken, bloody nose. She was still naked, on the tile. She must have only been out for a short period but it was long enough for him to have his way with her, yet again.

" _Better me than anyone of those girls out there,"_ she thought, knowing how young some of those girls were. She tried to move but her body was sore and weak. Her head was throbbing but now the blood was thick and sticky on the side of her head.

"You're not going to win," he said, knowing she was awake. He came and squatted just next to her legs, "You were stupid to think any of them would speak against me when you decided to go to the police. I have them all. I'm sorry for what I have to do now; you really were my favorite little toy." He reached forward, his plan to smother her. She closed her eyes and thought of what she had lost. Her innocence. Her freedom. Her love. She saw Tommy's face in her mind and she refused to go this way. She wouldn't let him win. She mustered all of the strength she could and she opened her eyes and glared at him.

"Not today," she growled, grabbing his reaching hand and forcing it unnaturally backward causing him to scream in agony. She yanked him forward just enough to wrap her legs around his neck and she held his arm in the best arm bar lock she could while she squeezed her legs around his neck. He was gasping and slapping at her legs for air. She squeezed harder, a part of her hoping she was crushing his windpipe but she didn't. He went limp in her hold and she let go when he lost consciousness. She kicked his limp form away from her and struggled to get to her feet. She limped and stumbled, hunched over trying to get to the door. She heard someone banging on it. She heard him groan behind her just as she reached the door. She fumbled to unlock it as she heard his heavy feet coming, slowly but still coming for her. She pulled the door open and the fell back against the wall and slid to the floor. Coach Schmidt burst in and that was the last thing she remembered.

* * *

 **Present**

"Hey," came Trini's voice, shaking Kim from her thoughts, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Kim said, furiously wiping at tears, "I just can't believe it's finally over."

"He's going to spend the rest of his life in prison," Trini reassured her, knowing that most people's closeness cause her anxiety but touching her shoulder anyway, "You did that. And you saved those girls from becoming his next prey."

"That doesn't make any of this any easier," Kimberly said, "Because of me going to the police, Coach Schmidt might lose his gym and his license. He didn't commit the crime. He didn't even know it was happening. He doesn't deserve to suffer for what some other creep did."

"He hasn't lost anything yet," Trini pointed out, "and he made sure you got your coaching license and a job once you get home and settled. Kim, it's going to be okay." Trini was so supportive and she appreciated that but she also knew that Trini was going to spend this entire trip trying to convince her to tell their friends what happened to her, why she sent Tommy that stupid letter and to let them help. Kimberly also knew that all of Trini's efforts were moot because she wasn't about to budge. She didn't think she could face them all again. The last time Jason tried, they came home and got captured and by the time they had made it back to Angel Grove to see the shelter saved she had just shut down entirely. Sure, she had talked to them and they had quietly asked her questions that she skirted or gave them the vaguest answer she could think of until she couldn't look at any of them anymore. So she hopped on the first flight she could catch and left. After the attack in the locker room that put the scumbag in jail, it was her Coach that had called her mother who had called Trini because she knew Kim would be more comfortable with her best friend. Trini was at her bedside with her mother when Kim woke up. Both of them tried their best to get her to tell her closest friends what happened but Kim stubbornly refused. After Kimberly recovered, her mother called the apartment that she'd found for her daughter back in Angel Grove and paid the deposit and promised to pay the rent on the place until Kimberly was allowed to leave Florida. The prosecutor's office required her as a victim to stay until the trial was over. She testified and because of her bravery, every other girl that had been subjected to the assistant coach's abuse testified against him. They all confessed to how he had assaulted them, how he had threatened them if they didn't keep quiet, how Kimberly would distract him and take the brunt of the abuse to save them as often as possible, and how Coach Schmidt had no clue what was happening under his nose and how they had all had their lives viciously threatened if they talked. The trial lasted almost 4 months and he was finally sentenced to life in prison for 27 counts of sexual assault, 13 counts sexual abuse of a minor, 27 counts of aggravated assault and 27 counts of aggravated menacing. She was finally able to leave Florida and wanted nothing more than to go home. She felt safe in Angel Grove but she wasn't ready to let her friend's in again. She wasn't sure she would ever be able to divulge the truth to them. She just wanted to go home and find some kind of normalcy.

* * *

The drive had been long and daunting. The girls took turns driving and Kim was grateful that when she drove, most of the time Trini used the opportunity to sleep. Trini, however, did her best in the hours that they were both awake to convince her best friend to let the rest of their friends in on her secret and let them help her. Especially since Trini would be leaving not long after they got to Angel Grove to go back to the Peace Conference in Switzerland. It was to no avail. Kimberly wasn't ready and she didn't like being pushed. She wanted to settle in, get herself into a routine and hopefully move on without anyone ever having to know about her personal hell. She knew it wasn't the best way to go or even the healthiest but she didn't want to relive the whole thing over and over again by having to rehash every sordid detail to their close knit group.

"Kim," Trini said, shaking the sleeping Kimberly, "Kim, wake up. We're here." Kimberly groaned in the passenger seat. The three day drive just seemed like it took forever. It was dusk as Trini pulled into the apartment complex on Chestnut Drive. It was a three story building with lots of windows and no balconies, much to Kimberly's disappointment but it was one of the nicest, decently priced apartments that her mother could find online that they both agreed on. The only problem she had now was the three flights of stairs she had to climb.

"So I was thinking, we can unload the car in two trips and then I'll go get some dinner while you set up our beds for the night," Trini suggested.

"Sounds perfect," Kim responded, still trying to shake herself out of her groggy state. She stretched and opened the door. They both started to unload the back seat and make their way up to the apartment. After the first trip, Trini made Kim stay in the apartment to unpack a little.

The apartment was a small two bedroom and it had potential. She set a box down on the living room floor and decided to take that moment to find the bathroom. The apartment had a pretty simple layout. The entrance had a small hallway/foyer area with a coat closet to the right side as you walked in. At the end of that short hallway, the apartment opened up into a wide L shape with the larger, longer space serving as the living room and the shorter, squarer space to the left being the dining room. Off of the dining room was the kitchen with a top row of cabinets and a stove at the far left end next to the counter, the counter and sink took up the rest of the longer back wall with a row of cabinets on the bottom and the refrigerator was to the right of the kitchen entrance. At the end of the large living room was a short hall way with two bedroom doors facing the living room and to the left at the end of the barely three foot hallway was the bathroom door. Inside the first bedroom door that could be fully seen from the front door of the apartment, there was a closet directly to the right of the bedroom door and then open floor space. In the second bedroom, which was slightly smaller than the first, the closet doors were to the left of the bedroom door. Across the short hallway from the second bedroom door was the hall closet and to next to that, squaring off the short hallway was the bathroom door. The bathroom was small but still held its own shelved linen closet behind the bathroom door and next to the bathtub. The walls in the apartment were a stark white and the carpet was soft beige. The only rooms without carpet were the bathroom and the kitchen.

"I'm definitely going to have to paint in here," Kimberly said to no one in particular, since Trini had left to get the rest of the stuff that Kimberly had brought with her from the car. She was excited and somewhat scared to have this new chapter in her life starting. She was not looking forward to having to take Trini to the airport the next day but she couldn't hold her best friend hostage. She decided that after dropping Trini off in the morning, she'd spend the rest of the day furniture shopping and getting the essentials she needed for her new apartment.

"I guess it's just you and me now," she said, looking down and rubbing the eighteen week old bump she was sporting underneath the pink tunic she wore. She didn't find out until just over a month later and after the trial had begun. Her mother tried to talk her into having an abortion because why should she have to be burdened with a child that was only going to remind her of the man that abused her for almost two years. Kimberly, wise beyond her years declined and told her mother that this child's life was not its choosing just as much as her conception of it was not her choosing. She wasn't going to take away this baby's life just because of how it came to be. That wasn't fair. Her mother had then tried talking her into adoption and Kimberly had again declined. Kimberly again explained to her mother that she wouldn't spend the rest of her life wondering what had become of her child. She didn't want strangers raising her baby. Knowing how this child was conceived made her all the more determined to give this baby his or her best chance to be raised in a loving environment and the only way Kimberly could guarantee that was to raise this baby herself.

" _I'm not happy about it," her mother had said, "But you are being far more mature and responsible than you have to be, given the circumstances and I respect you more for that. I know that I raised you with a good head on your shoulders. I'm just sorry that you've had to grow up so fast. I only wish that I could have saved you from this. I should have been there with you. I should have noticed." Her mother had broken down and cried for how she had failed her daughter and she cried for what her daughter had lost. She cried because she was so proud of her strength and her courage and her bravery. Kimberly was more of an adult than most adults were and it was, in part, because she had been forced to deal with the violence and brutality of what that man had done to her and the after effects but a lot of it, unbeknownst to her mother, stemmed from her time as a Power Ranger._

" _Just promise that you won't treat my baby any differently just because of how they got here," Kimberly asked. It had been the only thing she had asked of her mother. Carol Hart had kissed her daughters forehead and promised that she would spoil her grandbaby rotten._

She giggled at the memory of her mother promising to spoil her child because it was one of her more recent memories that had been the happiest. Happy was a long way away these days.

"What's so funny," Trini asked, as she struggled with two boxes and almost four garbage bags of stuff from the car. Kimberly rushed over to relieve her friend and took the two boxes out Trini's arms and set them down on the living room floor.

"I was just thinking about a conversation I had with my mom a while back," Kimberly said, "That's all."

"Oh, well whatever it was, you should think about it all the time," Trini said, "The world needs more of that famous Kimberly Hart giggle."

"Thanks, Trini," Kimberly said, putting and arm around her friend and looking at the mess of boxes and bags all over the living room floor, "Can we go get food please, I am starving." Trini laughed and they headed out of the apartment for food.

* * *

Kimberly dropped off Trini at the airport at eighty thirty and then stated making her way toward the few furniture stores she knew of in Stone Canyon. She decided it would be safer shopping there since not one of her friends knew that she had moved home. She decided that she would do her best to keep it that way as long as possible. She spent the afternoon making her furniture selections and paid for everything with the American Express her mom had given her for the purposes of getting everything she needed until she began working at the gymnastics studio that had opened in Angel Grove about a year prior. After the furniture stores, she went to Walmart and Kmart to get everything else she needed. She even stopped at a Sherwin Williams and picked out paint, the supplies and tarps. The last item on her to-do list that day was grocery shop. She finally made it back to her apartment sometime around five in the evening only to find a very annoyed install tech waiting for her at her door.

"I was scheduled to install your phone, cable and internet today," he said, exasperated as she came to the door. He was an older gentleman, heavier set with a curly red hair and a bushy mustache.

"I'm so sorry," Kimberly said, opening the door for him, "I just moved here and with everything going on, I guess I totally forgot." The man eased up on her, noticing her condition and that she had just carried a ridiculous amount of bags up three flights of stairs by herself.

"Good gracious, let me get those," he said reaching to take her bags but she stepped back and tensed up.

"I've got them," she said, inwardly chastising herself for being so scared of such a kind gesture, "I appreciate it but really, I'm okay." He gave her a disapproving look and followed her into the apartment.

"Forgive me miss but you really shouldn't be carrying things like that up all those stairs in your condition," he said as he set his tools down on the carpet.

"I know," she said, looking down at her belly and apologizing to the sweet baby inside, "But I guess I'll just have to get used to it. It's just me here." He frowned as he started to get things set up for her.

"Maybe it's the father in me," he started, his voice gruff and reminding Kimberly a little of her grandfather. "But if you have more that you need brought up, I'll get it for you. I really don't mind at all. And I'm sorry for being so short with you for keeping me waiting. You look like a nice girl and I'm sorry for your situation. Please, let me help." His words brought a tear to her eye. This was why she loved this place.

"Thank you," she said, holding her hand out, "I'm Kimberly."

"Phil," he said, shaking her hand, "Now, why don't you tell me which car is yours and I'll get the rest of your bags." Kimberly directed him to the blue cavalier with the open trunk in the parking lot. After four trips, Phil brought everything up and took a seat on the floor to catch his breath. Kimberly offered him a bottle of water that he graciously took. She thanked him profusely for the help, and set about putting her groceries away. She had remembered to purchase a cordless phone while she was out and Phil was kind enough to set that up for her after he was finished installing everything else. He shook her hand, asked her to take care of herself and left when he was all finished. She sighed as she locked the door behind him and began setting up what she could before her furniture was delivered the next day.

* * *

Two weeks went by quicker than she realized and she had started her job and was almost finished getting her apartment just how she wanted it. Her mother had insisted on hiring professional painters because she didn't want Kimberly stressing herself out too much. Kimberly again declined the offer as it gave her something to do when she wasn't working. She hated sitting around and she didn't like the idea of a bunch of strangers in her place all the time. Her mother had begged her to be careful and call her doctor immediately if she felt something was wrong. Kimberly promised her mother she would and that was the end of it. Besides, it gave her time to think about things. It actually helped her. It was like her own therapy and hey, it was free. Well, mostly free.

It had been almost two weeks to the day when she had been leaving the gym later than usual. It was probably close to eight thirty and she was exhausted. She was twenty weeks and felt like she was starting to waddle. She had been walking to her car after making sure that the coast was clear as the gym was situated one door down from the Youth Center, she had just turned the key in the car door when she heard familiar laughter coming from her favorite old hang out. She felt her pulse quicken and immediately her hands started sweating. She dropped her keys and cursed. She had to do this weird sort of squat to get them and she could hear the familiar voices getting closer. She prayed that they paid her no mind.

* * *

Tommy, Adam, Rocky, Kat and Tanya had just been leaving the Youth Center around eight thirty that Friday night. They had stayed to help Ernie close up. They were walking back to their cars and laughing at a joke Rocky made. Adam looked up at just the right moment and saw a woman, struggling to pick her keys up from the ground.

"Hey guys," Adam said, "I'm gonna go see if she needs help." He nodded in the direction of the woman in the gymnastics parking lot wearing grey flared sweat pants and a navy blue jacket that said A.G. Gymnastics Studio in white block letters across the back and she looked very pregnant. The rest of the group nodded, continuing to talk and Adam stopped dead after she picked up her keys. He squinted his eyes a little to focus better in the dark and half turned to his friends, "Uhhh, guys…does she look familiar to you?" The group looked up and watched the woman get into her car.

"Is that…" Katherine started, pointing at the blue cavalier that backed out of the parking space and then started out of the parking lot.

"I swear it looked just like her," Adam said, stunned.

"Couldn't be," Rocky said looking confused, "I mean we were all there when she said goodbye and left for the airport."

"Guys, come on, Kim's in Florida doing the gymnastics thing and the night is probably just messing with our eyes," Tommy tried to convince them, "She wouldn't come home and not tell us. She certainly wouldn't be in that condition and not tell us."

"Tommy, you can't be that sure," Katherine said, gently placing a hand on his arm.

"Sure I can," he lied, "You know what they say; everybody's got a twin out there." The others let out a laugh and Tommy hoped he had convinced them. He knew it was her. He'd know her anywhere. They said their goodbyes and got in their cars and drove home. Tommy got into his apartment and made a beeline for his phone in the kitchen. He immediately made the only long distance phone call that would give him answers.

"Trini," he said once he heard her voice on the line, "Where is she?" On the other end and half a world away, Trini's jaw dropped. She knew she couldn't lie to her former leader and she didn't want to but she didn't want betray her best friend either. So she said the only thing she could.

"4015 Chestnut Drive. Apartment 14C on the third floor," Trini responded. Tommy didn't say a word, as Trini knew he wouldn't. He hung up the phone and was out the door again.


	2. Chapter Two

**Hey guys, I'm so sorry if this chapter has a lot of mistakes in it. My power chord for my laptop bit the dust and I'm waiting for the new on too get here so I have been typing on my phone in my notes app. Autocorrect has not been my friend. I have done my best to go through and find any mistakes but I might have missed some. Anyway, enjoy!**

Kimberly walked into her apartment and locked the door behind her. She was so relieved to have made it out of there before the group noticed her. She sighed as she took off her shoes and set them inside the coat closet. She hung her jacket as well and then walked into the living room dropping her keys into the heart shaped stained wood bowl on the white rustic wooden end table. She walked across the living room, turning on the silver Eiffel Tower based lamps with the petal pink lamp shades on her three matching end tables to illuminate the living room. She went into the second bedroom and changed into a stretchy pink and white tie dye maternity shirt, blue jean over all's and she put her hair up in cute pigtail buns and covered them with a white bandana, though they still peeked out from under the thin, triangularly folded fabric. She went to the kitchen on got herself a quick snack of baby carrots and ranch and a bottle of water and then she ordered pizza before going into the first bedroom where the floor was covered in tarps and there were paint cans and rollers everywhere. She opened one can, mixed and poured into the trough, found her roller and set to work on her task. After a few silent minutes, she opted for music and turned on the small boom box in the corner. Her pizza wasn't expected for at least an hour so she got lost in the task of painting what would be her baby's nursery and her own thoughts.

Tommy pulled into the parking lot of the complex and found the building and parked next to her car. He made his way to the door, not sure what to say or what to expect. Part of him was angry that she would come home and not say a word but there was another part of him, a bigger part of him that had a feeling something was wrong. Someone had been leaving as he walked up to the door and held it open for him, so he didn't have to buzz her apartment. He wanted the element of surprise anyway. He walked up three daunting flights of stairs and by the time he reached the top had to wonder how, if she really was the pregnant woman they had seen earlier, was she climbing these stairs everyday. He found her door and raised his hand to knock but dropped it and turned and stood with his back to the wall next to the door. He had no clue what he would say. What if she was in there with the guy she left him for? Could he even handle that? He stood there and thought long and hard before he turned back to the door and took a deep breath, then he knocked.

Kimberly barely heard the knock on the door, having been so lost in her thoughts. Then it came harder and louder and she almost jumped out of her skin.

"I'm coming," she called putting her roller down and walking as fast as she could to the front of the apartment. She picked up her purse from where she'd left it on the floor next to the table that held her keys. She was digging through it as she unlocked the door, trying to find her wallet. She opened the door and upon looking up at who she expected to be the pizza delivery guy, she saw him. She sucked in air and felt the color drain from her face as she stared at him. She thought she might pass out; her anxiety mounting in her chest.

Tommy waited and heard her yell that she was coming. The door unlocked and she looked up from her purse, clearly expecting someone else entirely and he watched the color drained from her beautiful face as she stared, open mouthed at him. He was almost positive she was about to faint.

"Kim," he said, calmly. He could have sworn she made a gulping, swallow noise as she visibly started shaking. She was starting to hyperventilate. He took that moment to really look at her. She was so adorable in paint stained over all's and a pink tie dye T-shirt. Her hair was up in cute pigtail buns with a white bandana and she was sporting the cutest baby bump ever, but her face was ghost white and she was hyperventilating until...

"T-t-t-Tom...ohhhh..." she tried to talk but swooned and passed out. He rushed forward and caught her before she got anywhere near hitting the floor. He picked her up and carried her into the apartment, shutting the door behind him with his foot. He laid her on the the deep cushioned, dark purple contemporary yet shabby elegant couch with its back and arms decorated with matching nail head buttons all over it to give it a nice texture. It was very Kimberly. What bothered him at that particular moment was why would she have looked at him the way she did. He had never seen her look more terrified in all the years he had known her. He knelt next to the couch and gently shook her awake.

"Hey, Beautiful," he said, softly when her eyes started to open, "It's time to wake up." He said it the same way he had when she fainted upon his return as the White Ranger. This time though, she didn't smile and hug him. She stared, wide eyed and trembling. She looked like a deer in headlights and it shook him to his core. She was afraid. She was afraid of him.

"Kim, it's okay," he said, as calmly as he could, "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. You're safe." He was just as shocked by the words that left his mouth as she was. To him, it just felt like the right thing to say. She laid there, staring at his gorgeous face wondering how the hell he knew. Then it hit her; Trini.

"What are you doing here," she finally blurted causing him to wince just a little bit.

"I saw you earlier," he said, keeping his hands folded and hanging in the space between his kneeling legs where his elbow rested on his more elevated knee, "Leaving the gymnastics studio by the Youth Center. That was you, wasn't it?" She sheepishly nodded, so he continued as she sat up, "Why didn't you tell anyone you came home? And that you're..." He couldn't finish the sentence so he just motioned to her bulging belly. He noticed that she wouldn't look at him.

"Kim, talk to me," he begged, touching her arm just barely with his fingertips and noticing how immediately her muscles tensed. She finally turned her face to his, her eyes brimming and her lower lip quivering despite her perpetual biting of it.

"It's not something I ever wanted you to know," she said, her voice cracking and shaking as she started to cry, "I didn't want any of you to know. Ever."

"Know what," he asked, trying to be as gentle as he could while simultaneously trying to get her to talk. She kept biting her lip. He was sure she was going to make herself bleed.

Some part of her knew this would happen. One of them was bound to see her eventually and come looking, but why did it have to be him. Why? Of all the people in her life, why did it have to be Tommy at her door. She wasn't ready. She didn't want him to know her torment. Her Hell. Her anguish and pain. The cross she chose to bear in place of him. She started taking deep breaths so that she could prepare for what she was going to show him after she said as much as she could. Secretly she thanked herself for being prepared so she didn't have to say everything.

"Tommy, if you can't tell, there is no one else. There was never someone else," she said, watching the shock that flashed across his face, "I didn't want to walk away but I knew you wouldn't want me after you found out about this." She started to continue but he put his hand up to stop her but she ignored it, "If I don't get this out now, I'll never be able too. So if you want to know, please just let me tell you."

"Okay, Kim," he said, recognizing that she was struggling with this. He noticed her wringing her hands together and that she still hadn't stopped shaking, "Whatever you need."

She took a deep breath and tried her best to calm the anxiety in her chest. She took a few more deep breaths and then began to tell him the truth. She explained how the situation with the assistant coach would "accidentally" touch her inappropriately. It progressed into full on groping when no one was looking and she had attempted more than once to go to Coach Schmidt but his assistant was always there. He cornered her one night in the dorm hallway and told her she'd never be able to prove it. None of the girls talked. None of them ever got away and eventually he'd have her too. She told Tommy about the first time it happened and how after that she seemed hyper vigilant and would hear him in other girls rooms at night. She wrote the letter not long after the first time because she just felt like she had betrayed him and that he deserved better. Then she continued to tell him what went on from there and how she had gotten up one night to go to the bathroom and saw him going into a much younger girls room and she started yelling, so he took her instead. It wasn't long after that, that she realized that she needed to protect these girls and she needed to find a way to prove that he was doing it. So for almost two years she took the abuse and pissed him off enough to take her instead of one of the other girls. She told Tommy that he was careful not to leave marks where it would show. She was surprised that she told him as much as she had. It was like verbal vomit, once she started she couldn't stop.

"It had been a nightmare since the day I got there," she said, "Jason tried to get me to tell everyone when we came back five months ago but after Muranthias, I just couldn't. So I left. Two days after I got back, it happened again but far worse than it had ever been before."

"What happened," he asked, having moved to the matching loveseat just across from her because he couldn't kneel anymore.

"I had gone to the police before I left to come home with Jason," she said, "But I didn't have any proof at the time. At least not anything other than my word, so they questioned him and a few of the girls but nobody talked. So I set up cameras in the locker room. I knew he'd follow me in there to confront me about the police. This is what happened." She reached under the table and brought her laptop up. She'd been smart enough to make copies of the tape. She opened her laptop and brought up the footage, sound and all. She watched his expression, with her own grimace, as he watched this man beat, rape and nearly kill her in the locker room two days after leaving Angel Grove. She watched him get angry but she'd never seen him cry. Tears silently fell down his face as he sat there clenching his fists and his jaw.

"Why didn't you tell me, Kim," he growled unintentionally but it still made her want to run and hide.

"Tommy, I was scared. I was terrified all of the time. I didn't want anyone to know this was happening. You don't understand, he made vicious threats. He took so much away from me," she said and started to cry, "He took you away from me. I wrote that letter because I was made to think that I was cheating. That I was the one asking for this. That all of this was my fault. I knew you wouldn't want me anymore."

"And this," he asked, gesturing to her swollen belly. She frowned, rubbing where her baby had just kicked.

"I found out about a month after," she explained, "We had already started the trial. My mom wanted me to get an abortion or put it up for adoption. I'm not going to do that." He looked up at her, a little bit shocked but mostly, his admiration had only grown and she said, "This child didn't ask for this just as much as I didn't ask to be abused and violated. I'm not going to take away his or her life because of how they got here. And I'm not going to let strangers take over. I'm going to make sure that this baby grows up surrounded by love." They sat silent for a while until her buzzer, letting her know her pizza had arrived, made them both jump. She got up and grabbed her purse, leaving Tommy to sit and absorb everything he had just learned.

While she took care of whoever was at the door, he looked around the room. The walls were painted a light teal blue. It was like the color of the water in the Bahamas. Her couches were that deep purple and it really popped against the blue. The three end tables and the coffee table were a rustic white with a picnic table kind of feel about them. Each end table had a silver Eiffel Tower lamp with petal pink lamp shades. The windows on the long wall behind him had sheer white curtains overlapped by thicker, dusty rose ruffled cascade curtains. At the end of the living room was her entertainment stand with the TV on top. It was white wood and had three shelves flanking an electric fireplace in the center. Across from him, the dining room had a white wooden dining table that matched the end tables and coffee table with eight chairs. The curtains on the window behind it matched those in the living room. The wall that blocked off the kitchen from his view and completing the L-shape of the living room had two white leaning book shelves with a few books here and there, a couple of picture frames and various other mementos. He noticed that the pictures in the room were of her Mom, their friends, and some of her and her teammates in Florida. He didn't see any of just him and her. He had to admit, that bothered him a little bit.

She came back in with a glorious smelling pizza and set it on the dining room table. She went into the kitchen and came back with two plates.

"Help yourself," she said, as she sat back down with her plate. She wasn't sure how to gauge him anymore but she was surprised at how much better she felt having told him everything.

"I'm sorry, Kim," he said, getting up, "I should probably go." His words made her feel like she had just been slapped in the face. She did her best to mask her feelings and just nodded. She set her plate down and went into the kitchen so he wouldn't see her cry.

Tommy stood in her living room, emotionally torn. He was still processing everything and he didn't know how to feel. Her confession changed everything he thought he knew. He took off his jacket and laid it on the couch and followed her into the kitchen. She immediately sensed his presence.

"Maybe I shouldn't have come back," she said, her tears audible.

"No, Kim," he said, softly, "I'm glad you're here. I'm glad you came home. I just wish you wouldn't have shut me out. I loved you. That never changed. I still love you." She turned and looked at him, her tear streaked face just about broke his heart.

"I will always love you," he said, taking a step closer to her, "You're always going to be my Beautiful." He reached up to caress her cheek and she closed her eyes and fought off the flinch that was usually imminent upon someone touching her. His warm hand cupped her cheek and brushed away tears. She nuzzled into his hand just a little bit.

"Tommy, I'm so sorry," she whispered through her tears. He took that moment to pull her into him for the first time. Her whole body went rigid but he held her anyway. He rubbed her back and let her cry into his chest.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," he said and kissed the bandana covered top of her head. After a few minutes she finally stopped crying and let go of him. She gave him a brave smile and moved around him to the fridge for water. She kept thinking about how easy things were with him, how she didn't feel scared once she started talking, how she didn't want him to leave. She knew, after the bomb she just dropped that he wouldn't stick around long. She didn't expect him too. She couldn't. She had accepted a long time ago that she would be doing this alone, but it didn't stop her from hoping he'd surprise her and stay. She didn't say anything though, she just left the kitchen and sat on the couch, tucking one leg underneath her and she picked up her plate.

Tommy stood in the kitchen, unsure of what to do at this point. He didn't want to just leave her but wasn't sure that she would even want him to stay. He knew he wanted to stay. "What is wrong with you, Oliver," he thought, "She's the love of you life and she's been through hell. Just go out there and be with her."

Kimberly sat on the couch, pulling her slice of pizza apart with her fingers but she hadn't eaten any of it. She just stared as she picked it apart. Tommy came out the kitchen and walked over to the loveseat where he had left his jacket and picked it up. She kept her eyes down, locked on the shredded chunks of cheese pizza on her plate. Inwardly terrified of him leaving her alone after she had just confessed the entirety of her torment to him. She didn't realize that she was holding her breath until she felt dizzy.

Tommy took his jacket from the couch, watching her carefully but she didn't look at him. She stiffened as soon as soon as he picked up his coat. He knew he had no intention of leaving but clearly she thought that was the case. He smiled inwardly at her silent admission that she didn't want him to leave. She didn't look up though. She continued to stare at her plate and shred her pizza nervously. He shook his head with a brief smile and walked toward the door.

She felt tears threatening again as she watched him walk toward the door out of the corner of her eye. She didn't hear the door open, instead the scratchy sound of her coat closet opening and hangers being moved, shoes coming off and set inside. He walked back out and picked up the plate she'd left for him on the dining room table, grabbed a couple of slices of pizza and returned to his place on the loveseat. She watched silently as he took his seat and looked down at her plate with just a slip of a smile.

"So," he broke the silence after a while, "what are we painting?"


	3. Chapter 3

"It's the nursery," Kimberly answered him after a beat. She took her plate into the kitchen and dumped her torn apart pizza into the trash. She got herself a new, whole piece on her way back to the couch, "I've only started priming it."

"What color do you plan on painting it," he asked as he finished the last of his pizza.

"I found a really nice soft yellow," she said, chewing a small bite.

"Do you plan on telling the others," he suddenly asked. She gave him a wide eyed look and felt the anxiety swell in her chest. She finished chewing and choked down her pizza and then she just stared at her plate. Tommy knew that wasn't the best question to ask but he needed to know how to plan his time. If he had to duck out, he wanted to be prepared to make an excuse.

"Tommy," she said, her voice starting to tremble, "I didn't even want you to know. Don't get me wrong, I feel so much better having told you the truth but I….I'm just not ready."

"Kim, I understand and its okay," he started to explain, "I'm not going to push you. I think you should because they will understand and they will want to help you but I'm not going to push you to tell them. You should know you're pretty much stuck with my help, though; and since I'm going to help you, I'll just need to make an excuse for my leaving. Which was the other reason I asked."

"Tommy, you don't need to be that guy," she said, setting her empty plate on the coffee table, "I don't expect you to help me. You don't need too. I am perfectly okay doing this on my own. You have a life and responsibilities and Ranger duties a-a-and school…" He reached over and pressed a finger to her lips and told her to stop.

"Whether you like it or not," he said, "You have me at your disposal. I'm not going to leave you high and dry to do this all alone." She looked down at her ever growing belly and gave it a rub and looked up at him with tears in her eyes, yet again.

"You know," she said, as tears began falling, "I always imagined us here. Just not this way. I imagined us graduating and going to college and maybe we'd explore other interests but we'd always come back to each other and then one day we'd get married and we'd be doing this. Painting our baby's nursery and picking out names. You deserve to still have that with someone, Tommy."

"I still want that with you," he said, meeting her gaze, "And so what if this is how its happening for us? Plenty of people still have successful careers and lead great lives this way. I'm not afraid, Kim. I'm not leaving you to do this by yourself. I decided that the moment you opened that door."

"Why," she asked, "I broke your heart! I walked away from us t-t-t-to be somebody's….."

"Savior," he finished for her, "You walked away from us to be somebody's savior. To guard those girls against a monster. Kim, I couldn't be more proud of you for what you did. I hate that you had to endure so much pain but you saved those girls and you put that monster behind bars. Don't ever paint it as if you walked away from us for any other reason. If I had known, if you had come to me, I would have done everything I could to save you too from all of this, but Kim, everything happens for a reason. You gave me up to protect others. You let go of something important to you to serve the greater good. You are the definition of a hero." Tears flooded down her face and she just shook her head alittle bit and wiped away her tears. The effort was futile because the flood was still coming.

"Why are you always so good to me," she cried, holding her head in her hands. He got up from the loveseat and pushed her plate and laptop out of the way and sat on the edge of the coffee table in front of her. He pulled her hands away from her face and leaned forward so that he was almost nose to nose with her, his long wavy hair falling over his shoulders as he found her tear filled eyes.

"Because I love you, Kim," he said, holding her hands in his, "Because I know who you are. Because I have never met anybody as beautiful as you, both inside and out. There has never been a day that has gone by that I haven't missed you or that I haven't hoped for your happiness because that is all I have ever wanted for you; even if it wasn't with me." She stared at him, not a hint of doubt in those deep pools of brown. He gently brushed the knuckles of his fingers down her cheek and gave her a smile.

"What about Kat," she asked, knowing that her successor had been pining for Tommy since they met her and it had been Kim's hope that they would find each other and be happy, because if one of them deserved unconditional happiness, it was Tommy. He looked at her with a furrowed brow, as if he wasn't understanding the question so Kimberly continued, "I just assumed that you two got together. I mean you two looked pretty together the last time I was home."

"Don't get me wrong Kim," he said, still holding her hands in his, "Kat is gorgeous and she's a great person but we're not together. We tried to make a go of it after I got your letter and tried for a while but it just never went anywhere. We are great friends but that's all it will ever be. You're the only person that will ever have my heart." She gave him the best tear filled smile she could muster.

"You have no idea what that means to me," she said.

"I think I might," he responded.

* * *

After their heart to heart over pizza and tissues, Tommy followed Kimberly into what would be her baby's nursery and picked up a roller and proceeded to follow her lead. Her boom box had been on the whole time, softly playing tunes from the corner of the room. They painted primer on the walls until just after two in the morning when Kimberly happened to walk past her bedroom to the bathroom and noticed the clock.

"Holy crap," she said, as she noticed how late it was.

"What," Tommy poked his head out of the bedroom and gave her a concerned look.

"Tommy, its after two in the morning," she said, with a little bit of a slap happy giggle.

"I guess time flies when you're having fun," he said, making her erupt in a fit of giggles, "Okay Chuckles, why don't you get ready for bed and I'll clean everything up in here before I leave." She disappeared into the bathroom and Tommy set about finishing up the priming of the nursery so that it would be dry enough to start painting the next day. When he finished, he closed up the cans and took the rollers in to the kitchen and rinsed them properly so that they would be ready to go. He opened the bedroom windows to allow the room some air so that the paint fumes didn't infiltrate the whole apartment. He finished a while later and went to the bathroom to wash his hands and use the facilities. Upon reentering the living room he found Kimberly curled up on the couch in black v-neck maternity pajama top and shorts. She had let her hair down and it lay, swept back from her face, falling behind her head which was propped up by one of her many cream colored throw pillows with a grey bark tree on it that had purple flower blooms matching the color of her couches. She looked so adorable with her right arm resting on her belly. Tommy didn't want to leave her on the couch so he turned on the light in her bedroom and stood there a little stunned. She hadn't done much with her bedroom yet. There were a few paint supplies in the corner but he noticed that she had a white cube shelf structure along the longer wall that had the nursery on the other side of it and she had a queen sized bed, flanked by two white night stands, each with one drawer and the space below it left open for storage. Her bed was made with a pink pinched pleat bed set and white sheets. She still had a few boxes that had not yet been unpacked but what stunned him the most was that she had various picture frames leaning up against the wall on the floor and they all held pictures of the two of them together. There were a few frames that already had their place on her night stands and her shelving unit but it still made him smile that she hadn't excluded him from her memories but had instead kept those particular memories close by. He wondered if it was because he made her feel safe or if it had to do with reminding her of happy times. Perhaps it was some combination of both of those things. No matter the reason, a more selfish part of him was happy that she had kept those pictures in the most intimate place in her home. He turned and went to the couch and scooped up her small frame, undaunted by the added weight of her pregnancy and carried her into her room where he tucked her into her bed and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead.

"Don't go," she whispered, still mostly asleep but she rolled and found his hand. He sat on the bedside and held her hand while brushing his fingers through her hair until he was sure she was asleep. Then he took his leave of her room and decided it better to just sleep on the couch than to drive home at such a late hour. He wasn't all that comfortable going through Kimberly's things but managed to find an extra comforter and pillow in her hall closet and made himself a comfortable spot on the couch. He was out cold almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

* * *

Kimberly woke up and stretched. She didn't know how she had made it to her bed but she was grateful that she hadn't spent the whole night on the couch. She looked at the clock and noticed that she had slept in later than she had wanted too but she was okay with it. It was her day off and she only had a doctor's appointment later in the afternoon. She took her time getting up. She gathered her outfit for the day and she opened her bedroom door and headed into the bathroom to set her clothes on the counter before she went to the kitchen to start her coffee. Upon entering the living room, she stopped dead and had to stifle a laugh as she found a sleeping Tommy, sprawled out over her couch. She couldn't help but think about how uncomfortable he had to be. She was trying so hard to be as quiet as she could so as not to wake him as she tip toed through the living room. The kitchen was small but she moved around easily, getting the coffee pot going. She knew it wasn't the best thing for her to be drinking but these days she needed that cup of joy in the morning. She limited herself to just the one cup though.

"That smells amazing," Tommy said, groggily as he found his way into the kitchen.

"Good morning," Kimberly replied with a more cheery disposition than she had the night before, "Did you sleep okay?"

"Actually, I did," Tommy said, even surprised himself, "You're couch is pretty comfortable. Did you?" She let out a laugh and reached up into the cupboard for a mug for him.

"I did," she said, grabbing a mug for herself, "And I'm really glad you stayed, instead of driving home that late." Tommy just nodded, not sure if that was the only reason that she was glad that he stayed. She excused herself to go take a shower and asked if he would mind pouring her a cup when the coffee was ready. He said he would and she made her way to the bathroom, leaving Tommy to stand there and contemplate his day. He had enjoyed last night, despite learning so much about Kim's life since she had sent that letter. He was still processing it all but he knew that he didn't want to leave her.

* * *

Kimberly enjoyed the hot water just a little bit longer that morning, her muscles sore from crying and painting the night before. When she was finished, she turned the water off and got out. She toweled off and got dressed and dried her hair. Then she left the bathroom hoping to find a steaming cup of coffee waiting for her.

"If you want to shower, you can," she said to Tommy, who was just pouring the coffee into their mugs. She reached into the fridge for her quarter gallon of half and half and added some to her coffee and then offered it to Tommy. He took it and after adding a bit to his own mug, he returned it to the fridge for her.

"I appreciate that," he said, raising the mug to his lips for that first glorious sip, "But I am in dire need of fresh clothes. I'll shower when I get home." She nodded and turned, so that she could lean her back against the counter while she sipped her coffee. She looked in the direction of her kitchen window, which was situated at the left end of her kitchen. She couldn't see out it, but she just stared at it for a little bit.

"So," Tommy continued, "What does your day look like?" She turned her head back his way and set her mug down.

"I just have a doctor's appointment this afternoon and then I'm probably going to come back here and I don't know, paint or sleep or something. I really don't have any plans today," she answered. Tommy really took her in then. She looked amazing, despite everything. She wore what he assumed were blue maternity jeans and a crew neck, raglan baseball t-shirt. The sleeves were three quarter length in a cream color with a subtle heathered grey effect to them and the body of the top that hugged her curves and her beautiful belly perfectly was a blue grey background with a large pink rose floral design. If she had done her make up at all, Tommy couldn't tell. She just took his breath away.

"What time is your appointment," he asked.

"Two," she answered.

"Do you want company," he asked. She gave him a side long glance and chewed on her bottom lip.

"Yeah, sure," she said, a little hesitantly.

"It's okay to say no, Kim," he reminded her, "You're not going to hurt my feelings."

"It's not that," she said, "I just don't want you to throw your life into disarray just because I'm here."

"Kim, my life gets thrown into disarray most days of the week," he responded, "You being here just gives me something else to look forward too." She smiled and took a moment to appreciate his gorgeous, if not disheveled appearance. He wore blue jeans, a black belt and a red t-shirt underneath a black flannel button down shirt with a red plaid design to it. His long, thick, wavy hair only half pulled up and out of his face. She could stare at him forever and be happy. She took another, longer sip of her coffee and smiled to herself.

"Well," she said, setting her cup down, "If you insist, I'd be happy to have you come with me but I have to leave here by one thirty."

"I'll be back here at one," he promised, knowing that she knew he had a tendency to be late. She smiled and picked her mug back up. He finished his and told her that he would go home and shower and change and he would be back in no time since his day was also free. He spent the drive back to his apartment wondering what to tell their friends about his absence for the day. He knew they'd want to know what was keeping him from their usual hangout but he just needed time with her. Not just for his own selfish reasons but also to hopefully help her feel more comfortable about letting them back into her life. She needed to know how brave and wonderful she really was and he wanted her to know that despite what that monster made her feel, she could still trust them. If Tommy had any say in it, no one would ever hurt her like that again.


	4. Chapter Four

After taking a long, hot shower and finding fresh clothes, Tommy looked at the clock. It was almost eleven thirty in the morning and he knew that the group would expect to see him later that afternoon. He was pacing around his living room, trying to think of something to tell them when his phone rang in the kitchen.

"Hello," he answered.

"Hey man," came Rocky's voice, "Are you busy today?"

"Uh, yeah, kind of," Tommy said, "What's up?"

"I was supposed to teach a class at the Youth Center at three but I don't think I can make it," Rocky said, making Tommy nervously rub the back of his neck, "Do you think you can cover for me?"

"I can try," Tommy said, "I don't know though. I kind of already had plans for this afternoon. Can Adam do it?"

"I'll ask him," Rocky said, suddenly suspicious because Tommy had never turned down an opportunity to teach, "If he can't, I really don't want to have to cancel it with the kids."

"Call him and then call me back and let me know if he can't," Tommy said, "If he can't, I'll cover it for you."

"Thanks man," Rocky said.

Tommy hung up the phone and threw a bag together while he waited for Rocky to call him back. He wasn't sure how many nights he'd be spending with his ex girlfriend but he wanted to be prepared this time. The phone rang and Rocky confirmed that Adam was not available for that afternoon so Tommy have would teach the class. He really didn't mind but he would have liked to have spent the whole day with Kim. Hopefully he could teach the class and leave quickly.

Kimberly fell asleep on the couch after Tommy left and she was snuggled under the comforter he had used the night before. She was comforted by the smell of him. She had been watching something on television but she was still so tired from the night before. She was thankful that she had lent Tommy her spare key because she might not hear the buzzer if she fell asleep. The toll pregnancy took on the body was astounding to her. There were days that she felt like the energy was just sucked right out of her. Today was one of those days.

Tommy reached the apartment building and made his way back to her door. He unlocked it and opened it. The television was on but he didn't see Kim. He entered the apartment and dropped her keys in the bowl. He smiled as he saw her on the couch, her legs tucked under her and her left arm under a pillow propped up on the arm of the couch while her other arm rested over her belly, his blanket wrapped around her shoulders and just over her legs, leaving her belly exposed. Her hair fell over her shoulder and framed her sleeping face perfectly. Tommy saw her camera on the white shelves on the wall and picked it up. She had a full roll of film, so he snapped a picture of her sleeping there on the couch. He smiled and set the camera back in its place. He looked at the clock and saw that it was almost twelve thirty and figured he'd let her sleep just a little bit longer.

"Hey Beautiful," he whispered, shaking her gently. Her eyes fluttered open to his smile.

"Hey," she said, softly and started to stretch, "how long was I asleep?"

"I'm not sure but I've only been here about twenty minutes," he said, "but it's twelve fifty and I thought you said you needed to leave by one or was it one thirty?"

"One thirty," she said, starting to get up.

"Then go back to sleep," he said, "I'll wake you." She smiled and moved so he could sit down. He sat next to her and pulled her closer so that she could lay her head in his lap. She tensed at his touch but allowed herself the comfort of his gesture. She laid her head on a pillow in his lap and he covered her with the blanket and just stroked her hair while flipping through the channels on the tv.

He'd kept a close eye on the clock and woke her at one twenty. They got their shoes on and she gathered her things and they left. Tommy offered to drive her but she felt better taking her car. So he rode with her to a medical building in Stone Canyon.

"Why all the way out here," he asked.

"Well I didn't want to risk any of you seeing me and it was like the only doctors office that took my insurance," she said, honestly.

"I see," he said, "Well, shall we?" She nodded and he followed her in. She checked in and they sat down and waited. The nurse called her back and they went in and he waited in the exam room while she had her weight checked and some other things. They came in and the nurse took her vitals and left again. They waited another ten minutes and then an older woman in a white coat with blonde hair pinned to her head came in.

"Hello Kimberly," she said sweetly, "How are you feeling?"

"Tired," Kimberly answered, "but good."

"That's good," the doctor said and then noticed Tommy, "Is this the father?" Kimberly opened her mouth to say something but she wasn't fast enough.

"I am," he said, standing and holding out his hand, "Tommy Oliver."

"Dr. Penkowski," she said, shaking his hand, "It's so nice to meet you. And you've come on a good day. We're doing your ultrasound today and we may even be able to see the sex of the baby!" Kimberly was still reeling from the false admission Tommy made to the doctor. She was just stunned. She'd never have expected that to come out of his mouth.

"Unless you don't want to know," the doctor said, confused by Kimberly's silence.

"Oh, uh, yes. Yes we want to know," Kimberly said, still in utter shock.

"Great," the way too happy doctor said and then proceeded with her exam. She measured the length and width of Kimberly's belly while she lay flat on the table. Then she left and returned with the ultrasound machine.

"This maybe a bit cold," Dr. Penkowski said, as she squirted blue gel onto Kim's exposed belly. She turned the machine so that both Kimberly and Tommy could see. He was standing beside her head and reached down and took her hand. She looked at their hands and then up at him and smiled. The doctor pointed out arms and legs and measured the baby's size. They got to hear the baby's heartbeat.

"Everything looks perfect," she said, "And it looks like you are having a girl!" She pointed out where she had identified the baby's sex and Kimberly smiled. She didn't look at Tommy because she was still too glued to the screen but he smiled as well.

"That was amazing,"he said as they were leaving, "Just seeing her there and moving. Just amazing." Kimberly laughed and rolled her eyes a little bit. She knew he'd never seen an ultrasound done before.

"I forgot to tell you," he said, as they were leaving, "I have to go teach a class at the Youth Center in about twenty minutes but I'll be back right after."

"Why did you do that," she asked, ignoring his appointment information.

"Because Rocky asked me too," Tommy responded, confused.

"No, not that," she said, annoyed, "Why did you tell my doctor that you're the father?"

"Oh," he sighed, "I just figured that it was easier than explaining the alternative."

"I see," she said, "you know, this isn't my first appointment. Lucky for you, the last time she asked about the baby's father I just said that he couldn't make it." Tommy just chuckled as they got in the car.

She parked next to his truck and thanked him for coming with her. He gave her a hug and promised her he would return when the class was over in an hour. She told him not to rush because she was going to go do some grocery shopping and then head over to the craft store for some things. They parted ways and he left to teach. She left to get her shopping done.

Tommy taught Rocky's karate class from three til four and then quickly showered and changed in the locker room. Their group of friends sat at their usual table and they waved him over as soon as they saw him. He walked over but didn't intend on staying long.

"Hey guys, how's it going," he said.

"Good, come have a bite with us," Adam said, having just finished tutoring a student from their old high school.

"Uh, I can't today," Tommy said, "I've got some things to do today but I'll catch up with you guys later." He said his goodbyes and left.

"Okay did that seem strange to you guys," Katherine asked.

"Yeah and Rocky said earlier that he didn't want to cover the class this afternoon," Adam said, "Which is really not like him at all."

"Speaking of the Devil," Tanya said as Rocky came in and sat down at their table.

"Hey guys, where is Tommy off too in such a rush," he asked.

"No clue, man," Adam said.

"But something is definitely off," Katherine said.

"Maybe we should follow him," Rocky suggested. They all looked at each other and then quickly bolted out the door and piled into Adam's jeep. Tommy hadn't gotten more than a couple stop lights ahead of them when they found his truck. They followed him to a craft store in Stone Canyon. They watched him walk in and then waited five minutes and then went in.

"There you are," he said, making Kimberly jump in the aisle, her hand over her heart.

"God, you scared me," she said and playfully smacked his arm. She was still timid at his gentle touch and she tensed up when he placed his hand on the small of her back but it passed quickly. He hadn't even been back in her life for twenty four hours and she was amazed at how comfortable she was with his closeness. Everything really was just easy with him. She knew she didn't have to be afraid, although she was still struggling with that. Out in the open like this was easy for her because the asshole never did anything where there were witnesses. So being in public made her feel safer somehow. Being alone in a secluded place with nowhere to run or no one around or no way to keep him out is what scared her. Some nights she couldn't fall asleep in her own home because she was just terrified and the nightmares were relentless.

"So what are we looking for," Tommy's voice shook her from her thoughts and she looked at him a little confused before she remembered what she had come here for.

"Letters," she said, "I was looking for those raw wooden letters. You know, the kind you can stain or paint?"

"I know what you're talking about," he said and took her hand and guided her down the aisle further, "they are down here."

"How did you know that," Kim asked him, thoroughly impressed.

"My mom comes here a lot," he admitted.

"I see," she laughed and her laugh was music to his ears, "How is your mom?"

"She's good," he answered, "you should come with me one of these days when I stop over there and see her. She'd love to see you." Kimberly looked down at her feet. She was still scared of the people from her past and what they'd think of her once they knew. Tommy picked up on her discomfort quickly.

"Kim, it's okay," he said, touching her arm, "I know you're struggling with people right now. I didn't mean anything by it except, when you're ready." She was so angry and so sad and beyond frustrated with what had been taken from her. These invisible wounds that just wouldn't seem to heal felt like they were killing her. She fought back her tears as she looked up at him.

"I'm sorry," she said and despite her fighting, a tear escaped down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away.

"Don't be," he said, gently. She wasn't sure what had come over her but she just hugged him. She felt safe with him. He quickly wrapped his arms around her and held her to him. She rested her head on his chest and he kissed the top of her head and just stroked her hair. After a beat, she regained control of herself and stood, still in his embrace but turned to face the letters. There were block letters and curvy letters and then there were fancier, cursive letters.

"I think I like these," she said, pointing to the fancier wooden letters.

"Okay," he said, "what are we spelling?"

"Chloe Grace," she said. He looked down at her face but she was looking at the letters.

"That's beautiful, Kim," he said and she looked up at him and smiled. They picked out the capital C and G and then the lower case letters that finished the names. She picked up paint brushes and acrylic paints in a variety of pink shades and a clear acrylic sealer can to spray over the paint once it dried. They walked over to the checkout and waited, all the while being watched by their group of friends that were shocked at what they witnessed.

"So that was her we saw last night," Rocky said as they all climbed back into the car after following Tommy and Kim out of the store.

"How could Tommy not tell us," Katherine begged, "how could he lie to us like that?"

"Maybe he didn't know either," Tanya suggested. They all looked at her like she'd grown a second head.

"Let's see where they go," Adam said.

Tommy followed Kimberly back to her apartment and helped her carry her groceries and two bags from the craft store up the three flights of stairs. It wasn't a lot but it wasn't anything she needed to be doing. He also wasn't stupid. He knew that they had been followed and he took great care in making sure Kim didn't spot them.

"I'm going to run down to my truck for a few things," he said, "I'll be right back."

"Okay," she called from the kitchen, where she was putting her groceries away. He grabbed her keys and left the apartment. He walked over to the jeep where everyone was lost in conversation and knocked on the window, making the all jump.

"What are you all doing here," he asked, thoroughly annoyed at having his privacy invaded.

"We could ask you the same question," Adam said. Tommy's jaw tightened and he took a step back from the car to allow them to get out.

"How could you lie to us like that, man," Rocky said, visibly hurt.

"I didn't lie," Tommy said, "Not exactly."

"Well fess up man," Rocky said and the others nodded in unison.

"Look," Tommy said, "I didn't even know she was home. I saw her for the first time last night just like you did. But I would know her if I was blindfolded. I also know that she wouldn't come home, let alone come home pregnant and not say anything. I knew something was wrong. So when I got home I called the only person I knew would have answers. Trini just gave me the address and I showed up here."

"What happened, Tommy," Katherine asked, genuinely concerned for her friend, "Is she okay?"

"No," he said, matter of factly, "no she's not okay. She is a long way from okay. But that's something she has to tell you when she's ready."

Kimberly realized she had forgotten a bag in her car and traveled back down the three flights of stairs to the parking lot. She stopped cold when she saw Tommy surrounded by their group of friends. She wasn't stupid and she guessed that they had followed him. She knew Tommy wouldn't betray her but she also knew that they weren't going to leave without answers. She did her best to put on a brave face, despite the fact that she knew she wasn't ready, and she walked outside.

"Tommy," came Kimberly's small voice behind them. Everyone whipped around at the sound and faced her. She stiffened and he watched her turn a sick shade of white. He quickly made his way around the group to her. She was starting to shake again but at least she wasn't hyperventilating, like last night.

"Kim, you don't have too..." he started.

"I know," she said, "but they deserve an explanation. I think I can do this."

"Are you sure," he asked.

"Just stay with me," she begged quietly, "I can't do this alone."

"Of course," he promised, "I'm not going anywhere." She motioned for the group to follow, the bag in her car abandoned for the moment.

Kimberly brought them into her home and motioned for them to sit down. She brought out her laptop and started with the hardest part.

"I never wanted anyone to know," she began, "but keeping this to myself is harder now and it's killing me. I owe you all an apology because I hid this for so long but the reasons I hid it are so much bigger than myself." She was starting to cry and wiped furiously at her tears. Katherine reached out to hold her hand and Tommy, standing behind Kimberly shook his head and Katherine retracted.

"What happened, Kim," Adam asked as gently as he could. She looked up and met his eyes, each of their eyes.

"I spent the last two years in my own personal Hell," she began, shaking as she lifted her laptop, opened the file and turned the screen toward them so they could see and she pressed play. They watched the scene in the locker room unfold, their friend viciously and repeatedly attacked while she fought for her life.

"That was almost 6 months ago," she said, closing the laptop and seeing their faces. Katherine and Tanya both cried silently. Rocky and Adam looked beyond angry. Kimberly continued with her story, "I sent Tommy that letter after the first time he attacked me but it wasn't his first advance. It started with "accidental" inappropriate touches that escalated to full on groping when no one was looking. Then one night he was in my room. I fought but he won anyway. I would hear him in other girls rooms at night after that. I became hyper aware of the situation. I wrote that letter because I felt like I cheated somehow and because I knew that I couldn't let this keep happening to the other girls, some much younger than me. I needed to protect them." She explained her story much the same way she had to Tommy. Once she started, it became easier and easier to tell them everything. She cried through most of it and despite the fact that Tommy shook his head no, the two other women in the room reached for their friend and held her close.

"You are so brave," Tanya said, barely knowing Kim but still feeling strong connection.

"I am so sorry that you had to go through this, Kim," Katherine said, through tear filled eyes.

"I should have told you guys," Kimberly cried, reaching behind herself for Tommy who took her outstretched hand, "I should have come to you but I was so scared. I was so afraid that this was all my fault."

"This was not your fault," Rocky said, standing from his place on a backward dining chair and coming closer, "he had no right to touch you and you protected your teammates from that monster. I'm proud of you."

"We're all proud of you," Adam said, wiping a tear from her cheek, "Now you just need to let us help you heal."

Kimberly looked at each one of her friends and then looked at Tommy. He gave her a smile that said "I told you they would be here for you". Katherine still hadn't let go of her, despite the fact that Kimberly was stiffer than a board.

"Kat," Tommy said, gently and the blonde looked up at him, "you should probably let go." Katherine looked at Kimberly and realized that she was very tense and still shaking. Katherine retracted her arms and gave Kim her space.

"I'm sorry," Kimberly said, feeling sheepish with the people closest to her, "it's just hard for me. Anytime someone touches me these days, I just...I just can't help it. It's terrifying."

"That's understandable, Kim," Adam said, "You were traumatized, repeatedly, for a long time. I think you're allowed to be scared. It's okay." She gave him a sad smile.

"Well, now you all know the truth," she said, "I hope that you can forgive me for what I did." They all looked at her in shock.

"Forgive you for what," Rocky asked.

"For that letter. For not telling you guys the truth to begin with," she explained.

"Kim, you were in an impossible situation. You let go of us to protect others. You let go of Tommy to protect others. I don't think that's something that needs forgiveness. I think what you did took an enormous amount of courage and bravery. I don't know about the rest of us, but I for one can't forgive you," Katherine said, making Kimberly look at her stunned, "because there's nothing to forgive. You sacrificed for the greater good. Honestly, we should be thanking you for putting that monster behind bars."

"Yeah,"'Rocky said, "especially after you took him out like a badass." The whole room, Kimberly included, busted up laughing.

"Yeah, where the hell did you learn that arm bar hold you did," Adam asked, "Cause that was amazing." Kimberly just smiled and turned to gesture to Tommy like Vanna White on Wheel of Fortune.

"Dude," Rocky erupted, "You've been holding out on us!" Tommy just chuckled and shrugged.

"Not to change the subject," Tanya said, "but I want to know, what can we do to help you now, Kim? I want you to know that we're not going anywhere. So don't think for one second that you're about to do the rest of this alone." Kimberly bit her bottom lip and rubbed her palms up and down her thighs nervously as she thought about an answer.

"I don't know," she said, "I mean, I have a great job and I have money in savings. I'm actually doing okay for myself..."

"But what do you need," Kat asked, pressing the issue.

"Well, so far I have painted the living room and dining room myself. I had my furniture delivered but put everything you see here together by myself," she said, thinking more out loud than anything else, "I guess I could use the help getting the rest of this place painted and unpacked and set up before this little girl makes her way into the world."

"Great," Tanya said, clapping her hands together.

"Maybe we should get dinner first," Kim suggested, "I could order Chinese?"

"Oh that sounds good," Katherine said.

"Sweet," Rocky exclaimed, "Chinese food, DIY projects and we got our Kimmie back! Best day ever!" He did a goofy little dance in his place and they all laughed. Tommy stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Why don't you get everyone's orders and call the restaurant and the guys and I will go pick up the food and some more rollers and paint brushes," he suggested to her. She just nodded and proceeded to take down everyone's orders. She went into her room, in the closet and took some money from the envelope that Coach Schmidt had given her, she had hidden it under her hoodies . She came out and handed it to Tommy.

"That should cover dinner and the extra paint supplies," she said.

"Kim, you don't have to pay for us," Rocky said.

"I want too," she said, "besides, you guys are helping me out so much."

Tommy, Rocky, and Adam left to go get more rollers and brushes and the Chinese food for dinner. The girls helped Kim finish getting her groceries put away and then, Kimberly changed into what she now referred to as her painting clothes. She put her hair up in a messy bun, as did Katherine. They went into the nursery and opened the windows so that they wouldn't be smelling paint fumes the whole time and Kimberly opened up a can of paint that was labeled "Daisy".

"I like your choice of color," Tanya said, making the girls laugh.

"I had a feeling that she was a girl and I wanted something warm and light for her room," Kimberly said, "She should be welcomed into the world with warmth and light and love."

"She definitely should," Kat replied as she turned on the boom box in the corner.

Kimberly hadn't felt more relaxed in months. She had to admit, telling her friends made the biggest difference and Trini had been right. It wasn't long before the three women were dancing and laughing while they were painting. The whole atmosphere just felt like it had shifted. A weight felt lifted from her shoulders and she noticed her face starting to hurt from how much she'd been smiling.

"Thank you guys," she said to the girls at one point and put an arm around each of them and hugged them close.

Tommy, Rocky, and Adam picked up the paint supplies first. Tommy got an extra can of the "Daisy" yellow that Kim had just in case they needed it. Then they headed over to the Chinese restaurant to get their food and made their way back to her apartment.

"I can't believe she's going to be a mom now," Rocky said, as they drove.

"Yeah, but I understand why she didn't want to give her up," Adam said, "that baby is a part of her. I couldn't walk away from that either." Tommy just nodded as the other two talked.

"So are you two going to try and make this work for you," Rocky suddenly asked, "I mean she is your girl."

"Always has been," Tommy said as he drove, "but that's really up to her. I don't think it's in the fore front of her mind right now. I think she's just trying to make it through life one day at a time."

"Well, you looked pretty together in the craft store," Adam said. Tommy just shook his head.

"She just needed some support is all," he said, secretly hoping it was more to her than just needing a shoulder to lean on. He had to admit that he wanted her back and every time he got to have her in his arms, he just felt complete.

The guys entered the apartment and took off their shoes. Rocky and Adam set the food on the dining room table and Tommy was going to take the paint supplies into the nursery but stopped and had to stifle a chuckle at the sight before him. He snapped his fingers at Rocky and Adam to get their attention and pointed. The guys turned their attention to the girl's in the nursery who were busy painting and dancing and singing to the Shania Twain song on the radio.

"Hey, can we join the party," Rocky called over the music and made all three women jump.

"Sure," Kim responded, rolling her roller in more paint.

"I mean, that is," Tanya giggled, "if you boys think you can keep up?" The girls erupted in laughter as the three men entered the space to see that they had almost half of the room painted.

"Well geez, don't save any work for us," Adam joked, pulling fresh rollers from the bag Tommy dropped on the floor.

Tommy took a place just a little ways down the wall from Kim and Rocky and Adam started on the blank back wall while Katherine and Tanya painted the long wall across the room from Tommy and Kimberly.

"Do we have a latter," Rocky asked, "Cause we will need to even out these edges up too here."

"I just used a chair from the dining room when I painted the living room," Kimberly said.

"Great," he said, leaving to retrieve a chair and promising to be careful not to get paint on it when he returned. It only took a couple of hours before the room was fully painted in one light coat and they took the time for the paint to dry to heat up their now cold Chinese food and eat.

"So what are you going to name her," Tanya asked over her fried rice at the dining room table.

"Chloe Grace," Kimberly answered.

"That's so pretty," Katherine said. They fell into a pretty easy conversation over dinner and afterward, returned to apply the second coat of Daisy paint to the nursery walls. They finished late into the evening and after cleaning up the mess and closing up the paints, they bid their friends goodnight and went home.

"That went better than I thought it would," Kimberly said to Tommy as he closed the door behind the group.

"I knew it would," he said and her eyes fell, "Oh Kim, I..."

"It's okay, Tommy," she said, giving him a small smirk, "I should have known that they would understand. I shouldn't have hid this from them."

"We all understand why you did though," he said. She nodded.

"So I guess you'll be heading home too then," she asked, toying with a frame on her shelf and hoping the nervous anxiety wasn't apparent in her voice.

"Do you want me too," he asked, his own anxiety begging for her to say no.

"I'm not going to make you stay if you don't want too, Tommy," she said, "You have a life."

"And if I want to stay," he asked, taking a step closer to her. Her breath caught in her throat but she met his eyes.

"I...I...umm..." she stuttered as he closed the space between them and took her face in his hands. He took a chance and pressed his lips to hers, gently. She stiffened at his gentle, intimate touch and he almost pulled away but he felt her hands on his upper arms and then they fell to his sides where she bunched his open flannel shirt in her hands and pulled him closer. His hands found their way into her hair, that she'd pulled free from her bun and hers slid up his sides and then around his back as she opened her mouth to his. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pressed his palm into the small of her back. He felt her swollen belly pressed against him and then he felt the little girl growing there kick against him. Their heated kiss left them both breathless and a little light headed by the time they pulled away.

She didn't say anything. She stood, her forehead pressed to his until he moved his head up to press his lips to her forehead. She clutched his shirt in her fists and closed her eyes as a single tear escaped from her eyes and fell down her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry," she said as evenly as she could, tears silently falling, "I'm sorry I can't give you more than this."

"I don't need more than this," he said, holding her as close as he could and kissed her forehead again before resting his cheek on the top of her head.

"You deserve more than this," she finally said with a sigh, "you deserve more than I can ever give you."

"You are more than I deserve, Kim," he said, pulling away enough to look at her, "I'm not going anywhere. I want you. I've always wanted you." She nodded while she fiddled with a button on his shirt.

"I don't deserve you," she said, and quickly turned away from him. She felt his hands rubbing her arms and he kissed the top of her head.

"I think you're wrong about that," he said and she didn't say anything. She just went to her bedroom and closed the door. Tommy stood in her living room, his heart sinking in his chest just a little.

Kimberly stood against her bedroom door and cried. She felt so unworthy of him. She felt dirty in some way that couldn't be seen. In twenty four hours, this man that she had loved so much broke through her walls with little effort and made her feel safe again and here she was running away. She couldn't hold in the sobs that escaped her. She sank to the floor, her head in her hands and let it out. Her fear, her anger, the overwhelming sadness and loss that felt so heavy it was crippling.

Tommy heard the noise through her closed door. She sounded like she was in pain and he rushed through the closed door. She was sitting on the bedroom floor, her head in her hands, shaking and sobbing. He knelt behind her and reached for her arms to pull her in closer.

"Don't," she yelped, "please. Please, Tommy. I can't." She was having a hard time getting the words out between the sobs that wracked her. He just sat behind her, watching the pain that tormented her and feeling helpless to stop it all.

"I'm not going anywhere, Kim," he said softly.

"You shouldn't want me," she said through heaving sobs, "I'm not good for you. I'm not good for anyone." This time he ignored her protests and scooted forward so that she sat between his legs and he wrapped her in his arms and held her close, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"That is not true," he said, "and I'm sorry that he made you feel like this. You are not a bad person, Kim. You're not a whore or whatever he might have called you. You are strong and beautiful and amazing. You are everything anyone could want and you deserve to have someone love you and love you right. Whatever he made you feel, let it go. He was wrong. You are far more than you give yourself credit for." Her sobs began to subside as he talked to her. She finally began to relax into him.

"I love you," she whispered. This time he stiffened. She turned a little bit in his embrace so that she could see his face. He was a little stunned. She searched his eyes for some kind of answer. He reached up and brushed tears from her cheeks. He leaned in and kissed her lips gently.

"I love you too, Kim," he replied against her lips, but meeting her eyes.

"Please don't leave," she asked, draping her arms around his neck.

"I didn't plan on it," he said, giving her a smile.


	5. Chapter Five

Tommy woke to the sound of screaming and sat up so fast that he fell off the couch and stumbled to get to his feet as he ran in the direction of the back bedroom. He opened the door and found Kimberly clutching her comforter, her knuckles white and she appeared to be struggling against some invisible force that held her down. He reached her bedside and sat down next to her and shook her.

"Kimberly wake up,"'he all but yelled when his shaking her did nothing, "It's a nightmare." He gently shook her again and she bolted as upright as she could in her condition and accidentally punched him in the face with force enough to knock him off of the edge of the bed.

"Oh my God, Tommy," she yelled as he stumbled away from her, "I am so sorry! Are you okay?" He was rubbing his jaw and looked at her with amusement.

"Yeah, you hit like a girl in your sleep," he chuckled. She wrinkled her nose at him and threw a pillow in his direction.

"Are you okay though," he asked, retaking his seat next to her and gently rubbing her back.

"Yeah," she said, "I have nightmares all the time. You'd think I'd be used to it by now but I still wake up in a cold sweat and shaking." He noticed as she said it that she was shaking a little bit and her tank top was soaked in her sweat.

"Here, I'll get you a clean shirt," he said and stood up and went to her closet.

Somethings never changed. Her closet was one of them. He located her tanks and brought a pink one to her. She thanked him and proceeded to take off her wet, black one and he quickly turned to face the other way.

"Tommy, it's okay," she said with just the hint of a giggle, "it's not like it's anything you haven't seen before."

"I know that," he said, "I just wanted to respect your privacy."

"I appreciate that," she said, suddenly feeling wet. She threw the covers off and stood. The blankets were wet but it was clear and she looked very confused. Her face turned red as she realized that her nightmare might have caused her to "leak" in her sleep.

"Oh son of a bitch," she blurted.

"What," Tommy asked, also very confused.

"Nothing," she said waving him away, "can you go get some clean sheets from the hall closet?" He nodded and she started to strip her bed when a bottle of water fell on the floor from behind her pillow. The cap was loose and she breathed a sigh of relief as Tommy came back in with fresh sheets.

"What happened," he asked.

"The cap on my water must have been loose and it leaked," she said and pointed to the bottle on the floor. She felt the mattress to make sure it wasn't too wet and it was surprisingly dry. Tommy helped her make her bed and she looked at the clock. It was three in the morning.

"Well, since you've already broken the lip barrier, do you want to break the bed barrier too," she asked, surprising even herself.

"Why, Ms. Hart," Tommy said in his best mock shocked voice, "are you asking me to sleep with you?"

"Maybe," she said, with a giggle but got a little serious, "maybe you can keep the nightmares away and I might actually sleep..." She looked down at her hands in her lap, twisting a ring her mom gave her around one of her fingers. She was struggling not to cry. Even sleep was fleeting for her.

"I'll stay with you," he said, brushing the back of his hand down her cheek, "if you want me too." She nodded as she lost her fight with her tear ducts.

"I'm sorry," she said, wiping furiously at her face, "I swear I'm always crying." He chuckled as he walked to the other side of the bed and then slid under the fresh covers. She turned the light off and laid back down on her side.

"You know, I've heard that the crying is kind of part of the whole pregnancy thing," he said, scooting closer to her and putting an arm around her. He was surprised that she didn't stiffen at his touch this time. She relaxed into him.

"May I," he asked, his hand hovering over her belly. She took it and pulled it over to where she felt movement and pressed it to her belly.

"Wow," he said and both of them stared in utter horror or shock as his hand glowed with a white light and then her belly glowed.

"What the hell," they said at the same time and looked at each other with a mixture of shock and confusion. Then, without warning, they were being teleported.

Tommy landed on his feet but stumbled slightly and hand to keep Kimberly from losing her balance as they landed in the Command Center.

"Dimitria," Tommy said, "What's going on?"

"Tommy, how did you get here," Dimitria asked, looking at him and Kimberly with confusion.

"I have no idea," he said, "One minute I was getting in bed with Kim and I touched her belly and my hand glowed white and then her belly glowed white and the next thing we know, we're here..." Dimitria nodded and Kimberly looked from Tommy to Dimitria and back but didn't say anything.

"Tommy, did you not claim this baby as your own earlier today," Dimitria asked after a moment.

"Well yeah, but what does..." he started to say and Dimitria held uonher hand to silence him.

"You have claimed her in your heart," she said, "and so, the powers that be, the spirit animals you both possess, have made it so." Kimberly thought about this for a moment.

"Are you saying that because he claimed her at my doctors appointment, the morphing grid just changed her biological make up to match his DNA," she asked.

"Precisely," Dimitria responded, "you have an enormously strong connection between the two of you. I also sense that this is in fact a gift from Zordon to you, Kimberly."

"What do you mean," Kimberly asked.

"I sense that Zordon knows of your torment and struggle in your personal life and since he could not intervene, instead he has given you true freedom. By changing your daughters DNA to match Tommy as her father, you are free from your captors clutches entirely. No one can come after you or try to take your baby now." Kimberly stood with her hands over her mouth as she realized that Dimitria was, in fact, right. Her rapist could fight her for the custody of her baby. The state of Florida could take her away and place her in the custody of his family until he served out his sentence. Zordon has just made that impossible. She turned and looked at Tommy with tears in her eyes.

They smiled at each other and she hugged him. He kissed her. The light appeared around them and a second later they were back in her apartment, still kissing.

"I can't believe it," she whispered as they parted, "I just can't believe it."

"I know," he said, sitting down and staring straight ahead. She sat down next to him and took his hand, sensing his panic.

"Tommy," she said, rubbing the back of his hand, "I stand by what I said. I don't expect anything from you. You don't have to do this if you just aren't ready. It's okay to walk away."

"Kim," he said, "I'm not walking away from this. No way am I walking away from this. I'm just kind of in awe of what just happened. I'm not just figuratively her father. I am her father. I'm just stunned."

"You and me both," she said, laying back in her bed, exhausted.

"Good idea," he said. He got up and went around to the other side and got in bed while she got herself comfortable. He put his hand on her side and slid it around to the under side of her belly and leaned over her. He kissed her belly and whispered, "Daddy loves you." Kimberly turned her head to smile at him as he lay down just behind her.


	6. Chapter Six

Kimberly woke up in her bed alone. She struggled to sit up as her pregnancy was progressing. She looked around her bedroom and noticed that her sheets were the same and her clothes were the same. She stood and opened her door and peered out into her living room and there was Tommy, sprawled out on the couch. It had been a dream, but it had felt so real. She looked down at her growing belly and gave it a gentle rub.

"I guess it's just you and me against the world," she mumbled to herself as she leaned up against the door. She searched through her closet and pulled out her outfit for the day and then took her clothes into the bathroom to start her day.

Tommy woke up, surprised to find that he was on the couch where he had been when Kimberly's scream had woken him up or so he had thought. It couldn't have been a dream, it was way to real. He heard the shower running and went to the kitchen to make coffee.

"Goodmorning," Kimberly said as she entered the kitchen. She had thrown her wet hair up in a messy bun and was dressed in her grey gym sweatpants and a dark blue T-shirt with the gym's logo on the front.

"Goodmorning," he replied and took note that she wouldn't look at him, "Are you working today?"

"Yeah," she answered as she poured herself a cup of steaming coffee, "In about an hour." He nodded and she turned and went into the living room.

"Are you okay," he asked, following with his own mug steaming in his hand.

"Fine," she snipped as she struggled to bend to pick up her tennis shoes. Tommy reaches forward and picked them up for her and handed them to her.

"Are we going to talk," he asked.

"About what," she looked at him with furrowed brows.

"About last night," he responded slowly.

"What about it," she huffed as she sat down and began to struggle with putting her shoes. Tommy set his mug on the coffee table next to where she had set hers and began to help her put her shoes on.

"I don't need your help," she snapped and immediately regretted it, "I'm sorry."

"What's wrong," Tommy asked, his face the most genuine shade of concerned.

"Nothing," she replied and returned her attention to her shoes.

"Kim," he began but she was quick to cut him off.

"Tommy, stop wasting your time here," she calmly replied, "Go back to your happy life with everyone and forget you found me here. I'm okay. I don't need you to save me." Her words cut him deeply and he was stunned by how harsh she sounded.

"I'm not leaving," he said firmly, "and I'm not saving you. You saved yourself. I'm just trying to be here for you."

"I know that," she finally sighed after fighting to get her shoe on, "I'm just cranky. I had this incredible dream and it just felt so real. I wanted it to be real. I wanted to know that my nightmares were finally over." Tommy looked at her, his eyes wide.

"I had a dream too," he said, "I swear it was so real. We had gotten in bed after you woke me up screaming from a nightmare and..."

"And you touched my belly and it glowed and then we ended up in the command center..."she finished.

"How did we have the same dream," he wondered, "unless it wasn't a dream?"

"We don't know that it wasn't just a dream," she sighed, "maybe it's just a coincidence?"

"You don't really think that do you," he asked, furrowing his brow at her.

"I know better than to get my hopes up anymore," she responded sadly as she finished tying her shoe. He reached out and lifted her chin to look her in the eyes.

"I'm not going anywhere, Kim," he promised, "no matter what. You can push me away all you want but I'm not going anywhere." She sniffed a little as tears formed in her eyes.

"Please don't make promises you can't keep," she begged as the dam threatened to break and flood rivers down her cheeks.

"I wouldn't dream of it," he whispered as he leaned in and kissed her forehead gently.

Tommy went home after Kim left for work and packed a bag and checked his messages. There was a message from his mom inviting him over for dinner that night. He wanted to accept but he wanted to see if he could get Kim to come as well. He knew it was a long shot but he wanted to ask anyway. She needed to know that she was supported here.

Kimberly was teaching an afternoon class with her assistant when Tommy entered the gym. He stood back and watched her. She seemed so at ease teaching the girls, but Tommy noticed the tension in her posture.

"Can I help you," a voice broke him from his thoughts.

"Y-Yeah," he stuttered, "I'm just here to see Coach Hart if she has a minute."

"Let me check," the young girl said with a smile, she gave him a once over and bit her lip before she walked away. He missed her checking him out but paid attention to the girl telling Kim that someone was here to see her. She got very tense and turned slowly. It only occurred to him in that moment that she was abused the most in the gym in Florida and probably was feeling the beginnings of a panic attack when being told there was a man there to see her.

"Coach Hart," came Sasha's voice as Kim was instructing her juniors on tumbling, "there's a really cute guy here asking for you." The young girl couldn't hold in her fit of giggles and Kim looked horrified for a moment and felt every muscle in her body stiffen. She turned slowly and to her relief, it was Tommy standing at the door.

"Katie," she said to her assistant, "Can you take over for a minute?"

"Sure," Katie replied and took Kim's clipboard.

"Hey," Kim called as she got closer to Tommy, "what are you doing here?"

"I had a break between classes and wanted to ask you something," he replied with hopefulness.

"What's up," she asked.

"Well my mom wants me to come over for dinner tonight and I wanted to know if you'd like to come too," he asked, hoping she wasn't too afraid, "My Dad is out of town and she's a little lonely." Kimberly thought it over for a bit, chewing on her lower lip as she did so. She knew his heart was in the right place but she wasn't sure she was ready.

"I guess it's better now than later," she replied with a heavy sigh, "I don't want to stop my progress but please don't hold it against me if my anxiety becomes to much."

"Kim, it's okay," he promised, taking her hand, "it'll just be me and my mom and you. No one else and we will be at her house. We don't have to talk about anything that happened. We can just enjoy a meal and chat. And if you feel like it's to much just tell me and we can go."

"I'm going to do my best," she said, "but don't let me take time away from you and your mom."

"You won't," he promised, "besides I know she will be happy to see you!"

"Okay," she sighed, "what time?"

"I can pick you up at your place at 5," he asked.

"That's a little early," she cringed, "Can we do 6?"

"Absolutely," he said as he leaned in to hug her and then whispered, "Everybody is staring at us..."

"No one knows the real story," she whispered back, "just..." He cut her off with a kiss and she did her best not to seem surprised by it. Her whole body tensed up despite herself but she did kiss him back.

"I'll see you after work honey," he said nonchalantly as he walked away from her.

"O-okay dear," she stuttered, trying her best to sound natural.

Tommy left the gym and went straight to his mother's place of business.

"Tommy," his mother greeted him brightly, "what a nice surprise! I didn't expect to see you until later this evening."

"Hey Mom," Tommy said as he nervously shoved his hands in his pockets, "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure sweetie," Janet Oliver said as she took her seat behind her desk, "What's going on?"

"Well, it's about dinner tonight," he answered.

"Tommy," Janet groaned, "you're not cancelling on me again are you?"

"No, of course not," he quickly answered, "it's just that I want to bring someone."

"A girl," his mother squeaked with delight. Tommy couldn't control the urge to roll his eyes.

"Not just any girl, Mom," he said with an unusual amount of seriousness in his voice.

"Who," his mother asked.

"It's Kim," he said and gauged his mother's expression. Her pursed lips were not a good sign.

"Thomas, that girl broke your heart and the way she did it..."Janet began to rant.

"MOM," Tommy all but yelled, "She's home and she's pregnant and she's alone." Janet's eyes snapped to her sons face and he noted her horrified expression.

"You better not be trying to tell me..." she began and for the first time since Kimberly had confessed everything to him, he broke. Janet Oliver watched as her stronger than Hercules son burst into tears on the other side of her desk. She quickly got up and shoed her assistant away and closed the door. She took the seat next to Tommy and pulled his hands away from his face. As hard as he tried he couldn't control the tears.

"What happened," Janet ask calmly.

"I saw her a few nights ago leaving the gymnastics studio next to the juice bar," he began, "I went home and called Trini and Trini just gave me her address. So I went over there. I didn't expect much. Maybe to see her with the guy she left me for but Mom it was so much worse."

"Talk to me," Janet pressed giving his hands a squeeze.

"There wasn't anybody else, Mom," Tommy said, trying so hard to stop his tears but he met his mothers eyes anyway, "She spent two years in that place..." He has to stop. The anger that seethed in him began to rise as he remembered every detail of the video she showed him.

"What happened," Janet pressed harder.

"The assistant coach raped her," Tommy blurted and his mother's hands shot to her face as her jaw dropped.

"It was happening to other girls too," he said, "Some of them much younger than Kim. She did what she could to keep them safe. She'd do things to piss him off so he'd take her instead. She said she couldn't let him hurt them. Especially the little girls. Anyway, she wrote that letter because she thought she'd betrayed me somehow. That I wouldn't want her if I knew. After her last visit, he almost killed her when she got back."

"How do you know," Janet asked, her worry rising with every detail.

"She set up surveillance in the locker room to catch him because no one would talk to the police," Tommy said, rubbing his hands together, "She showed me because it was to hard for her to tell me." Tommy dropped his head in his hands again and shook with sobs.

"It's okay," she offered, "She's okay."

"No Mom," Tommy looked up at his mother, "You didn't see the way he beat her. The way he...he used her body. The way he violated her. You didn't see the way she looked at me the other night. Mom, she was terrified. She looked at me with fear I have never seen before. I...I don't know...I should've done something...I should've known better..."

"Tommy," Janet stopped him and took his face in her gentle hands, "Listen to me, you couldn't have known. You couldn't have stopped it. The only thing you can do is be here for her now. I'm so sorry, Sweetie. I am so so sorry." She hugged her son and let him cry on her shoulder until he finally got it out of his system.

"Can I bring her to dinner," he asked.

"Of course," she said, gently caressing his cheek and giving him a loving smile.

"I don't know how she will feel about my telling you," he said, wiping the wet streaks on his face.

"Well, why don't we just let her bring it up when she's ready," Janet suggested.

"Mom I can't not tell her that I told you," he said, "besides, Kim isn't stupid. She knows you wouldn't expect to see her let alone in her condition without explanation."

"Well then tell her you filled me in," Janet suggested, "but let her know that it won't be discussed unless it's something she wishes to bring up." Tommy nodded and reached for the tissues on his mother's desk.

"You better get going," Janet chided, "You don't want to be late for dinner." Tommy chuckled and nodded.

"Thanks Mom," he said with a smile and then headed back to his apartment to get ready before he picked up Kimberly.

Kimberly stood in her bedroom staring at her closet trying to figure out what to wear for dinner. She wanted something nice to wear since she hadn't seen Tommy's mother in a long time. She decided on a white wrap dress with a black and pink floral design on it and a side tie. It was short sleeved and came down to her knees. It was a nice soft cotton which made her happy because she needed comfort these days. She showered and then she dried her hair. She kept it simple and just straightened it and left it down. She did put on a touch of makeup, if only to cover the circles starting to form under her eyes. Just as she was slipping on her black flats, she heard the buzzer.

Tommy waited nervously for the buzzer to ring him in. He's spent more time than he had in a while getting ready. He wasn't sure what had him so nervous but he was anxious to see her. Finally the door opened for him and he found himself taking the stairs two at a time until he reach her door. He gently knocked and waited.

Kimberly heard the knock on the door and unlocked the door and opened it. It wasn't until her eyes met his that she realized her heart was racing and her palms were sweaty. She felt like she had on their first date but this wasn't a date. Sure they had shared a kiss or two but that wasn't anything she needed to be nervous for.

"Hey," she said with a smile, "you're early."

"Yeah, well my Mom has been on my case lately about my being late," he chuckled as she moved to let him in.

"Well I think it's paying off," she giggled.

"You look beautiful, Kim," he complimented her once inside her apartment.

"Thank you," she replied and gestures to him, "You look pretty great, yourself." He wore dark blue jeans and a white T-shirt. She took notice that he had also straightened his long locks and smiled because he remembered that she loved it that way.

"Just let me go get my keys and purse and we can go," she said. He nodded and she moved passed him toward her bedroom. He turned to watch her just has she let out a painful cry and she bent slightly as her hand held the lower right side of her belly. He was immediately at her side. She grabbed the shelf next to her as she began to sink to the floor in pain.

"Kim," he said as he helped her lower herself, "what's wrong?"

"I don't know," she groaned, "it just hurts."

"Do you want me to call your doctor," he asked. She tried to answer but all that came out was another pained cry. He saw that her knuckles had turned white from her grip on the shelf and he just did what came naturally and scooped her up into his arms. He carried her over to the couch and held her in his arms while she held her belly and groaned in pain.

"I think the doctors card is in my purse on my bed," she managed to mumble. Tommy just nodded and gently set her on the couch and went to get her purse. She went through it and found the card. Once in his hand, he found her cordless phone on the wall in the kitchen and dialed the number.

After waiting what seemed like forever, she finally spoke to her doctor and let out a sigh of relief as she hung up.

"Well," Tommy asked expectantly.

"Everything is fine," Kimberly assured him, "She said it's just round ligament pain from my uterus expanding. She said it can be very painful but to just relax and it will pass."

"Well in that case," Tommy said with a sly smile and picked her up with her her purse and keys in her lap and carried her to the door.

"TOMMY," she squealed with delight, "You don't have to carry me!"

"You're not suffering up and down three flights of stairs if you don't have too," he said as he opened the door.

"My hero," she sighed dreamily as she threw her arms around his neck and giggled as he started down the stairs.


	7. Chapter Six (06-05 01:10:32)

Kimberly woke up in her bed alone. She struggled to sit up as her pregnancy was progressing. She looked around her bedroom and noticed that her sheets were the same and her clothes were the same. She stood and opened her door and peered out into her living room and there was Tommy, sprawled out on the couch. It had been a dream, but it had felt so real. She looked down at her growing belly and gave it a gentle rub.

"I guess it's just you and me against the world," she mumbled to herself as she leaned up against the door. She searched through her closet and pulled out her outfit for the day and then took her clothes into the bathroom to start her day.

Tommy woke up, surprised to find that he was on the couch where he had been when Kimberly's scream had woken him up or so he had thought. It couldn't have been a dream, it was way to real. He heard the shower running and went to the kitchen to make coffee.

"Goodmorning," Kimberly said as she entered the kitchen. She had thrown her wet hair up in a messy bun and was dressed in her grey gym sweatpants and a dark blue T-shirt with the gym's logo on the front.

"Goodmorning," he replied and took note that she wouldn't look at him, "Are you working today?"

"Yeah," she answered as she poured herself a cup of steaming coffee, "In about an hour." He nodded and she turned and went into the living room.

"Are you okay," he asked, following with his own mug steaming in his hand.

"Fine," she snipped as she struggled to bend to pick up her tennis shoes. Tommy reaches forward and picked them up for her and handed them to her.

"Are we going to talk," he asked.

"About what," she looked at him with furrowed brows.

"About last night," he responded slowly.

"What about it," she huffed as she sat down and began to struggle with putting her shoes. Tommy set his mug on the coffee table next to where she had set hers and began to help her put her shoes on.

"I don't need your help," she snapped and immediately regretted it, "I'm sorry."

"What's wrong," Tommy asked, his face the most genuine shade of concerned.

"Nothing," she replied and returned her attention to her shoes.

"Kim," he began but she was quick to cut him off.

"Tommy, stop wasting your time here," she calmly replied, "Go back to your happy life with everyone and forget you found me here. I'm okay. I don't need you to save me." Her words cut him deeply and he was stunned by how harsh she sounded.

"I'm not leaving," he said firmly, "and I'm not saving you. You saved yourself. I'm just trying to be here for you."

"I know that," she finally sighed after fighting to get her shoe on, "I'm just cranky. I had this incredible dream and it just felt so real. I wanted it to be real. I wanted to know that my nightmares were finally over." Tommy looked at her, his eyes wide.

"I had a dream too," he said, "I swear it was so real. We had gotten in bed after you woke me up screaming from a nightmare and..."

"And you touched my belly and it glowed and then we ended up in the command center..."she finished.

"How did we have the same dream," he wondered, "unless it wasn't a dream?"

"We don't know that it wasn't just a dream," she sighed, "maybe it's just a coincidence?"

"You don't really think that do you," he asked, furrowing his brow at her.

"I know better than to get my hopes up anymore," she responded sadly as she finished tying her shoe. He reached out and lifted her chin to look her in the eyes.

"I'm not going anywhere, Kim," he promised, "no matter what. You can push me away all you want but I'm not going anywhere." She sniffed a little as tears formed in her eyes.

"Please don't make promises you can't keep," she begged as the dam threatened to break and flood rivers down her cheeks.

"I wouldn't dream of it," he whispered as he leaned in and kissed her forehead gently.

Tommy went home after Kim left for work and packed a bag and checked his messages. There was a message from his mom inviting him over for dinner that night. He wanted to accept but he wanted to see if he could get Kim to come as well. He knew it was a long shot but he wanted to ask anyway. She needed to know that she was supported here.

Kimberly was teaching an afternoon class with her assistant when Tommy entered the gym. He stood back and watched her. She seemed so at ease teaching the girls, but Tommy noticed the tension in her posture.

"Can I help you," a voice broke him from his thoughts.

"Y-Yeah," he stuttered, "I'm just here to see Coach Hart if she has a minute."

"Let me check," the young girl said with a smile, she gave him a once over and bit her lip before she walked away. He missed her checking him out but paid attention to the girl telling Kim that someone was here to see her. She got very tense and turned slowly. It only occurred to him in that moment that she was abused the most in the gym in Florida and probably was feeling the beginnings of a panic attack when being told there was a man there to see her.

"Coach Hart," came Sasha's voice as Kim was instructing her juniors on tumbling, "there's a really cute guy here asking for you." The young girl couldn't hold in her fit of giggles and Kim looked horrified for a moment and felt every muscle in her body stiffen. She turned slowly and to her relief, it was Tommy standing at the door.

"Katie," she said to her assistant, "Can you take over for a minute?"

"Sure," Katie replied and took Kim's clipboard.

"Hey," Kim called as she got closer to Tommy, "what are you doing here?"

"I had a break between classes and wanted to ask you something," he replied with hopefulness.

"What's up," she asked.

"Well my mom wants me to come over for dinner tonight and I wanted to know if you'd like to come too," he asked, hoping she wasn't too afraid, "My Dad is out of town and she's a little lonely." Kimberly thought it over for a bit, chewing on her lower lip as she did so. She knew his heart was in the right place but she wasn't sure she was ready.

"I guess it's better now than later," she replied with a heavy sigh, "I don't want to stop my progress but please don't hold it against me if my anxiety becomes to much."

"Kim, it's okay," he promised, taking her hand, "it'll just be me and my mom and you. No one else and we will be at her house. We don't have to talk about anything that happened. We can just enjoy a meal and chat. And if you feel like it's to much just tell me and we can go."

"I'm going to do my best," she said, "but don't let me take time away from you and your mom."

"You won't," he promised, "besides I know she will be happy to see you!"

"Okay," she sighed, "what time?"

"I can pick you up at your place at 5," he asked.

"That's a little early," she cringed, "Can we do 6?"

"Absolutely," he said as he leaned in to hug her and then whispered, "Everybody is staring at us..."

"No one knows the real story," she whispered back, "just..." He cut her off with a kiss and she did her best not to seem surprised by it. Her whole body tensed up despite herself but she did kiss him back.

"I'll see you after work honey," he said nonchalantly as he walked away from her.

"O-okay dear," she stuttered, trying her best to sound natural.

Tommy left the gym and went straight to his mother's place of business.

"Tommy," his mother greeted him brightly, "what a nice surprise! I didn't expect to see you until later this evening."

"Hey Mom," Tommy said as he nervously shoved his hands in his pockets, "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure sweetie," Janet Oliver said as she took her seat behind her desk, "What's going on?"

"Well, it's about dinner tonight," he answered.

"Tommy," Janet groaned, "you're not cancelling on me again are you?"

"No, of course not," he quickly answered, "it's just that I want to bring someone."

"A girl," his mother squeaked with delight. Tommy couldn't control the urge to roll his eyes.

"Not just any girl, Mom," he said with an unusual amount of seriousness in his voice.

"Who," his mother asked.

"It's Kim," he said and gauged his mother's expression. Her pursed lips were not a good sign.

"Thomas, that girl broke your heart and the way she did it..."Janet began to rant.

"MOM," Tommy all but yelled, "She's home and she's pregnant and she's alone." Janet's eyes snapped to her sons face and he noted her horrified expression.

"You better not be trying to tell me..." she began and for the first time since Kimberly had confessed everything to him, he broke. Janet Oliver watched as her stronger than Hercules son burst into tears on the other side of her desk. She quickly got up and shoed her assistant away and closed the door. She took the seat next to Tommy and pulled his hands away from his face. As hard as he tried he couldn't control the tears.

"What happened," Janet ask calmly.

"I saw her a few nights ago leaving the gymnastics studio next to the juice bar," he began, "I went home and called Trini and Trini just gave me her address. So I went over there. I didn't expect much. Maybe to see her with the guy she left me for but Mom it was so much worse."

"Talk to me," Janet pressed giving his hands a squeeze.

"There wasn't anybody else, Mom," Tommy said, trying so hard to stop his tears but he met his mothers eyes anyway, "She spent two years in that place..." He has to stop. The anger that seethed in him began to rise as he remembered every detail of the video she showed him.

"What happened," Janet pressed harder.

"The assistant coach raped her," Tommy blurted and his mother's hands shot to her face as her jaw dropped.

"It was happening to other girls too," he said, "Some of them much younger than Kim. She did what she could to keep them safe. She'd do things to piss him off so he'd take her instead. She said she couldn't let him hurt them. Especially the little girls. Anyway, she wrote that letter because she thought she'd betrayed me somehow. That I wouldn't want her if I knew. After her last visit, he almost killed her when she got back."

"How do you know," Janet asked, her worry rising with every detail.

"She set up surveillance in the locker room to catch him because no one would talk to the police," Tommy said, rubbing his hands together, "She showed me because it was to hard for her to tell me." Tommy dropped his head in his hands again and shook with sobs.

"It's okay," she offered, "She's okay."

"No Mom," Tommy looked up at his mother, "You didn't see the way he beat her. The way he...he used her body. The way he violated her. You didn't see the way she looked at me the other night. Mom, she was terrified. She looked at me with fear I have never seen before. I...I don't know...I should've done something...I should've known better..."

"Tommy," Janet stopped him and took his face in her gentle hands, "Listen to me, you couldn't have known. You couldn't have stopped it. The only thing you can do is be here for her now. I'm so sorry, Sweetie. I am so so sorry." She hugged her son and let him cry on her shoulder until he finally got it out of his system.

"Can I bring her to dinner," he asked.

"Of course," she said, gently caressing his cheek and giving him a loving smile.

"I don't know how she will feel about my telling you," he said, wiping the wet streaks on his face.

"Well, why don't we just let her bring it up when she's ready," Janet suggested.

"Mom I can't not tell her that I told you," he said, "besides, Kim isn't stupid. She knows you wouldn't expect to see her let alone in her condition without explanation."

"Well then tell her you filled me in," Janet suggested, "but let her know that it won't be discussed unless it's something she wishes to bring up." Tommy nodded and reached for the tissues on his mother's desk.

"You better get going," Janet chided, "You don't want to be late for dinner." Tommy chuckled and nodded.

"Thanks Mom," he said with a smile and then headed back to his apartment to get ready before he picked up Kimberly.

Kimberly stood in her bedroom staring at her closet trying to figure out what to wear for dinner. She wanted something nice to wear since she hadn't seen Tommy's mother in a long time. She decided on a white wrap dress with a black and pink floral design on it and a side tie. It was short sleeved and came down to her knees. It was a nice soft cotton which made her happy because she needed comfort these days. She showered and then she dried her hair. She kept it simple and just straightened it and left it down. She did put on a touch of makeup, if only to cover the circles starting to form under her eyes. Just as she was slipping on her black flats, she heard the buzzer.

Tommy waited nervously for the buzzer to ring him in. He's spent more time than he had in a while getting ready. He wasn't sure what had him so nervous but he was anxious to see her. Finally the door opened for him and he found himself taking the stairs two at a time until he reach her door. He gently knocked and waited.

Kimberly heard the knock on the door and unlocked the door and opened it. It wasn't until her eyes met his that she realized her heart was racing and her palms were sweaty. She felt like she had on their first date but this wasn't a date. Sure they had shared a kiss or two but that wasn't anything she needed to be nervous for.

"Hey," she said with a smile, "you're early."

"Yeah, well my Mom has been on my case lately about my being late," he chuckled as she moved to let him in.

"Well I think it's paying off," she giggled.

"You look beautiful, Kim," he complimented her once inside her apartment.

"Thank you," she replied and gestures to him, "You look pretty great, yourself." He wore dark blue jeans and a white T-shirt. She took notice that he had also straightened his long locks and smiled because he remembered that she loved it that way.

"Just let me go get my keys and purse and we can go," she said. He nodded and she moved passed him toward her bedroom. He turned to watch her just has she let out a painful cry and she bent slightly as her hand held the lower right side of her belly. He was immediately at her side. She grabbed the shelf next to her as she began to sink to the floor in pain.

"Kim," he said as he helped her lower herself, "what's wrong?"

"I don't know," she groaned, "it just hurts."

"Do you want me to call your doctor," he asked. She tried to answer but all that came out was another pained cry. He saw that her knuckles had turned white from her grip on the shelf and he just did what came naturally and scooped her up into his arms. He carried her over to the couch and held her in his arms while she held her belly and groaned in pain.

"I think the doctors card is in my purse on my bed," she managed to mumble. Tommy just nodded and gently set her on the couch and went to get her purse. She went through it and found the card. Once in his hand, he found her cordless phone on the wall in the kitchen and dialed the number.

After waiting what seemed like forever, she finally spoke to her doctor and let out a sigh of relief as she hung up.

"Well," Tommy asked expectantly.

"Everything is fine," Kimberly assured him, "She said it's just round ligament pain from my uterus expanding. She said it can be very painful but to just relax and it will pass."

"Well in that case," Tommy said with a sly smile and picked her up with her her purse and keys in her lap and carried her to the door.

"TOMMY," she squealed with delight, "You don't have to carry me!"

"You're not suffering up and down three flights of stairs if you don't have too," he said as he opened the door.

"My hero," she sighed dreamily as she threw her arms around his neck and giggled as he started down the stairs.


End file.
